1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable modular light diffusion box, and in particular such a box which includes light diffusion frame(s) and the capacity to contain multiple lights.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the entertainment industry including motion pictures, television and theatrical arts, as well as in the photographic industry and other fields, it is necessary to light a set, stage or other area. Often, particularly for an indoor set in the motion picture and television industries, the key (primary) lighting is provided at the back corners of the set (opposite where the camera and audience, if any, will be) to avoid boom (sound equipment) shadows and a fill light from the front in accordance with a theory known as back cross key lighting.
While back cross key lighting is used in almost all sitcoms, there are some inherent drawbacks to the system. One problem is that the “key” or strongest light comes from the top/back (upstage) portion of the set, so there are invariably shadows thrown from the people and objects on the set onto each other. Also, in many cases there are shadows from a person's facial features that fall upon that person's face, such as nose shadows. The strong (“hard”) light coming from the back also creates hot rims around people and is especially objectionable on bald or light-haired individuals. This hard light, which is traditionally used, can also create unwanted microphone boom shadows.
In studio photography, light diffusion gel frames have been used to soften lighting by diffusing the light. These frames have been typically individually mounted in front of or to a lighting instrument.
Conventional wisdom is that the lights are mounted on a stand, on a pipe, or on typical set scaffolding known as a green bed. As there are numerous lights on a set, and as providing a diffusion screen on each light is cumbersome, and as it is further cumbersome to change such screens and to align such lights to properly cooperate, the use of individually mounted diffusion devices is not practical or economical for some set lighting, especially sitcoms.
Prior attempts have been made in the art with respect to set lighting and otherwise. Brief descriptions of such prior attempts are set forth below. While the descriptions are believed to be accurate, no admission is made by them regarding their subject matter which is solely defined by the patent or reference involved.
Examples of individually mounted diffusion gel supporting members are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,602 to Joseph N. Tawil, issued Jul. 29, 1997, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,506 to Raymond G. Larson issued May 1, 1984. These require special brackets or rings to mount to the lighting instrument, and are often dependent on the type of light.
A diffusion device has been known to be used with multiple lights, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,874 to Thomas A. Waltz issued Aug. 8, 1989. The Waltz patent discloses a light modifier which is inflatable and surrounds multiple lights attached to a stand or to other support rods which are not part of the inflatable device. The device itself which provides light diffusion must be entirely changed to change the light diffusion effect, and it has limited ability to control and direct light. It is therefore impractical to use for set lighting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,838 to Muriel H. Brandess issued Jul. 7, 1992, discloses a photographic filter-holding apparatus that has a mechanism for holding a filter in front of a light. In one embodiment there are two lights, but each light has a separate filter, and it also requires a special mounting structure.
Even when diffusion is used, often expensive fresnel lights are used with it. These are focusable between “spot” and “flood” conditions, and provide a useful light source because you can change the pattern and intensity of the light when it is not heavily diffused, allowing for a tight “spot” of hot light, a wide flood of lesser intensity, or a selectable middle ground. It is interesting to note that when projected through heavy diffusion, this function is neutralized. However, fresnel lights have drawbacks. They are expensive, inefficient and heavy.
What is needed is a box which can diffuse and control light from multiple lights in such a way that the box and lights are stable, preferably avoid the need for expensive lighting instruments such as fresnel (focusable) lights, and provide soft, diffused light preferably from multiple instruments such as par cans (“pars”), to enable the use of front projected lighting as the key or primary lighting for a stage or set.
What is also needed is a device that can project soft key light in a controllable way deep into the set evenly from front to back and side to side while having a compact profile to allow for cameras underneath and viewers behind. The light would be parallel to and under the microphone booms thus eliminating boom shadows. The light would also come from a similar angle as the cameras eliminating or “burying” shadows behind the objects themselves.
Certain lights have been made for overhead lighting, i.e., above a set or other item needing light. However, these do not provide an efficient soft projected and consistent light. For example, one configuration known as the “chicken coop” has six 1000-watt bulbs shaped much like household bulbs. Light is unevenly pushed through the lamps themselves and bounced off the light shell, resulting in a very mixed source with limited projection. Even if a diffusion screen is used, the light is inconsistent and the bulbs cannot be individually controlled.
Sometimes, a long cylindrical fabric sheath with a roughly 30-inch diameter opening is placed around some open globes in a wheel type configuration known as the space light. The sides of the sheath can be blackened. The problem with this light as an overhead light is that it uses a lot of energy for very little output. Much of the light is absorbed in the black sheaths and not output from the opening at the bottom of the sheath. The source, being just globes, is not internally or externally focused to project well through the exit port as described.
Light diffusion elements have been constructed of cardboard or other consumables in a jury-rigged fashion for a long time. There also is a company known as Chimera which markets cone-shaped soft tent-like members for attachment in front of a lighting source, typically a single fresnel light. However, none of the extensive art combines a box with interchangeable diffusion frames and standard light mounting rods facilitating the use of multiple par cans, e.g., four or more, to create a deeply projected but soft light that is consistent from near to far. Moreover, none put all of these elements together with built-in lights in a way that enables use of inexpensive lightweight lights with high output to obtain a soft projected light.
What is needed is a high-output, projected soft light from a modular system using multiple lights. What is also needed is such a system that is provided in a lightweight, foldable structure which readily mounts to standard mounting equipment such as stands, scaffolding or other existing support structure. What is also needed is a way to obtain soft projected light from inexpensive, non-focusable lights. What is needed is one device that solves many needs.